This book chronicles the social and economic history of the cotton industry in the antebellum South. It explores how the rise of cotton transformed the southern economy and society, leading to the development of a slave-based plantation system that was central to the region's economy and culture. Dodd offers insights into the lives of the people who lived and worked in the Cotton Kingdom, including both whites and enslaved African Americans. Through vivid storytelling and rigorous research, he brings to life an era that ...
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This book chronicles the social and economic history of the cotton industry in the antebellum South. It explores how the rise of cotton transformed the southern economy and society, leading to the development of a slave-based plantation system that was central to the region's economy and culture. Dodd offers insights into the lives of the people who lived and worked in the Cotton Kingdom, including both whites and enslaved African Americans. Through vivid storytelling and rigorous research, he brings to life an era that continues to fascinate and influence American culture today. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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There are many interpretations on the nature of southern sectionalism and what lead the South to secession in the years before the American Civil War. In The Cotton Kingdom (1919) William E. Dodd emphasizes the role of the planters in the development of the southern economy and southern sectionalism. It was the planters' influence in Congress and Andrew Jackson's policy of Indian removal that permitted the Old Southwest to be opened to cotton agriculture. Also, the thirst for wealth led the planters to push for Texas annexation and the Mexican War. The political power of the cotton kingdom at the county, state, and federal levels was firmly lodged in the hands of the planters. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the planters feared the loss of influence and property. To preserve their way of life, the planters led the movement for secession. Thus, William E. Dodd explains southern sectionalism and secession as movements led by the ambitious and wealthy planters of the Old South.